1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of male sterilization wherein the vas deferens is sealed against sperm flow.
2. Brief Statement of the Prior Art
The male sterilization procedure, commonly known as vasectomy, has been performed for many years as a means of positive birth control. This procedure generally involves severing each of the vas deferens tubes in the scrotum and sealing the cut ends so that no sperm may be transmitted through the tubes past the sealed ends. Certain complications may arise as a result of vasectomies performed using procedures that are common and accepted by many surgeons. These procedures usually involve incising a section of each vas deferens and tying off the cut ends of the vas deferens with ligatures, which cause each vas end to heal to form a seal. Seals formed in this manner were in some cases unreliable.
Other prior art sterilization methods included inserting a wire in the vas, heating the wire causing cauterization of the vas walls and withdrawing the wire resulting in a sealing of the cauterized walls. This method suffered from the serious deficiency that the vas wall portions near the severed end were in continuous and prolonged contact with the heated wire, causing those portions to become overheated and burned. Chunks of the wall would adhere to the heated wire and thus weaken the wall structure, and necrosis of the outer tissues would occur causing sperm leakage which could lead to the situation that results in a recanalization of the divided vas with a resultant restoration of fertility, often unknown to the patient.